1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dental dam for isolation, moisture control and infection control in the oral environment.
2. Description of the Related Dental Art
Dental isolation dams are commercially available for use in dental procedures where maintenance of a dry working area and containment of contaminants is desirable. Two known dams include "Dental Dam" (from The Hygenic Corp., Akron, Ohio) and "Quickdam" (from Ivoclar North America Vivadent Division, Amhurst, N.Y.). Dental dams are commonly made of natural rubber and referred to as rubber dams. Dental dams are typically available in discrete sheets, rolls and preformed ovals and are sometimes used with a separate metal frame to assist in retaining the dam in a desired configuration.
Prior to use, the dam is typically perforated with a punch at a location corresponding with the position of the tooth to be isolated. The dam is then placed in the mouth with the perforation positioned over the tooth and moved until the tooth projects through the perforation. The dam is typically clamped with a retention clamp to an adjacent tooth to maintain the desired placement and in some instances is secured about the neck of the tooth with a cord such as dental floss. Next, the dam is stretched over a frame to keep it taut.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,317 discloses a dam maintained in place utilizing a separate elastomeric cord. Great Britain Patent Application No. 2 232 084A describes a dental dam with an aspirator frame having hollow pipes fitted to a central exhaust for suctioning fluids in the oral cavity. An attempt to provide a dental dam that needs no separate external frame is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,491 which describes an oval-shaped dam having an attached annular resilient frame.
It has been proposed to make dental dams of polyurethanes as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,491. The dam illustrated in one embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,491 has a series of ribs arranged along a radial axis perpendicular to and adjacent a peripheral annular rim such that the ribs coincide with the location of interproximal areas of the dental arch.
The dental dam is increasingly recommended for use as part of the infection control armamentarium for standard dental procedures. However, dams are relatively infrequently used because they are often cumbersome for the dental practitioner to place, difficult to maintain in position and uncomfortable for the patient. An easy to place dam with need for little or no attendant hardware and providing comfort for the patient would be a significant inducement for dental dams to be utilized more frequently during standard operatory procedures.